


Favor of the First Enchanter

by MulticoloredRose



Series: Into Darkness, Unafraid [8]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Alaren Lavellan, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Light Angst, Magic, POV Vivienne, Period-Typical Racism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-03
Updated: 2019-03-03
Packaged: 2019-11-08 23:12:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17990297
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MulticoloredRose/pseuds/MulticoloredRose
Summary: To prevent an incident at an Inquisition event, Lavellan reaches out to Vivienne for guidance and aid.





	Favor of the First Enchanter

**Author's Note:**

> Just a quick story in the lives of Alaren Lavellan and his Inquisition team. (Basically what I typed up while avoiding homework. Priorities am I right? :-D )
> 
> Also it should probably be noted, the Kirkwall events are referenced but through how I feel Viv would respond or think about them, not necessarily how they actually went down or how others feel about it.
> 
> And I might not always agree with Vivienne - but she's awesome.

Big change was never something that happened gracefully. Certainly not the groundbreaking, worldview changing sort of change that the Inquisition was attempting to give the world. A belief that mages and normal people could coexist side by side in harmony, and work towards a similar goal to the betterment of all. It was a nice fantasy, a little naïve if she were to say so herself, but certainly optimistic.

There was something to be said about Lavellan’s optimistic little worldview though. She could give credit where credit was due and, in this case, it most certainly was. When she had first reached out to the stumbling, fledgling little Inquisition it had been before any alliances had been made and before anyone could even begin to guess what this tiny band of misfits was going to go on to do and become. She was there before an elven mage of all things managed to convince the disgraced Templar order to disband and join them alongside the newly freed – oh of all the foolishness _that_ had been, Tevinter? Really? – mage rebellion members who had sided with the then Herald to seal the breach.

If someone had tried to sell such a tale to Vivienne prior to it occurring, she would have laughed them all the way out of Orlais. Even Varric, for all of his gifts, would not have been able to make the world swallow that pill and he had convinced a major part of the populace that Kirkwall had been necessary and that the mages – and this apostate Anders – had been backed into a corner with no other options available to them. Honestly, even she wanted to clap a little for the dwarf when she had read that tale. It was quite inspiring and heart wrenching and, if you asked her, complete nonsense. The Circles were flawed, yes; but the Circles didn’t just protect the people from mages. They also protected the mages from people.

So, to be honest when she’d sent off that messenger to Val Royeaux to invite the Inquisition’s forces to meet with her, she had not been prepared for the Herald himself to step through that door.

There had been stories, so many stories that had circulated around Orlais. No doubt the work of the Templars and the Chantry, which had painted him has barely more than an elven savage who no doubt resorted to blood magic and other forms of dark arts to slaughter the divine and try to usurp power from his betters. The truth, couldn’t have been further from that description if it had tried. Instead of some savage, the Herald had interacted with them with patience and poise even after being harassed and almost humiliated publicly. Vivienne had been more than ready to roast the foolish duke and the Herald had simply chosen to not lower himself to give an answer as to what to do with him. That had been the first point in his favor. A neutral stance is a powerful thing when wielded correctly.

She had been surprised when Lavellan accepted her request to join the Inquisition, and it seemed that the Dalish mage would continue surprising her throughout their continued acquaintance. She had arrived in Haven expecting to be shifted to the side, shut out and having to rely on Cassandra or Mother Giselle for information and influence over the Herald; so when the Inquisition scout had shown up at her rooms to say that the Herald had requested her presence personally for the meeting, she’d been caught… _slightly_ off guard.

Most problems that occur with the newly crowned is that their advisors either overpower them or are nothing more than pathetic yes men desperate to hold onto their wealth and privilege. Thankfully, Lavellan seemed determined to not make this the case with his own growing cabinet, and as such reached out to her for a different approach and a different take and voice on big decisions. Granted, Vivienne didn’t think that Solas should be present but the apostate seemed reasonably intelligent if annoyingly vague and self-important. He needed a better fashion sense…or even just a sense that fashion existed, but some things she would suffer to sit at the left hand of an up and coming world power.

Cassandra was a dear, but mostly unhelpful in the meetings. She’s a follower and a soldier first and foremost. She doesn’t want to lead. She wants to know what it is she’s supposed to do and she wants to do it. An effective warrior through and through but in the end just a sword with an impressive lineage. Cullen doubts his instincts far too much after the events that happened in Kirkwall that had him leaving the Templar Order, and he especially doubts them where mages are concerned to really offer Lavellan the push back that Lavellan needs sometimes. Josephine is more about giving options and planning for the fallout of each of the choices rather than making an opinion on which choice should be taken. An impressive diplomat, but more of an information broker than an advisor. Leliana, as impressive as she is, doesn’t make decisions and she never has. She implements them. From the companion to the Warden Queen of Ferelden to the Left Hand of Divine Justinia to the Right Hand of the Herald of Andraste the resume that the woman has acquired is quite remarkable.

So truly, that leaves Vivienne in a place she rather likes. Having the ear of the Herald of Andraste and later on, the Inquisitor of the Inquisition himself. She’s always impressed how the young man will turn to her for her advice and rely on her experience despite their very different beliefs. It’s the mark of a true leader who can accept the wisdom of someone they may not agree with, and accept it graciously.

Now, Vivienne has known that the Mark has some negative effects on the elf’s health. That much is certain from the coma that it put him in when he first received it and how Solas is required to constantly aid in lessening it’s pull on the Inquisitor’s strength in private after Rift Closings. However, she has always been pleased to say that the young man has never shown it. Not in battle and not out and about. His late hours can easily be credited to just having far too much work to do around Skyhold, which he allows the outside world to believe when he cannot hide it and he maintains an air of poise and dignity through his day to day interactions with the nobility and help alike.

So to say she’s confused when the Inquisitor motions for her to come to him at one of the dinners thrown for a new potential ally would be underselling it. He usually prefers to go to the people he wishes to speak to instead of summoning them to him. However, this is a thing that she has done to him multiple times and he has come with each summons without complaint and Vivienne has no qualms doing the same.

“Inquisitor?” Vivienne greets when she comes over and there’s something off about how he’s standing there. “Did you need me, my dear?”

“I must ask for your assistance.” Alaren says rather quickly, and his voice is soft and tight and her concern rachets up tremendously when she starts to notice how the already pale elf is somehow missing even more color in his tone.

“What is wrong?” She says, keeping a smile on her face and making it seem to anyone watching that they’re just sharing some gossip or minor piece of information.

“I cannot…” He stops for a second and takes a small breath. “I do not want to cause a scene, but I fear that I’m about to and I need your assistance with not doing that.”

“You most certainly are not going to make a scene.” Vivienne informs him and he huffs out a small smile. “What is wrong?” She repeats.

“The Mark…” He says and her eyes go down to the leather gloves that he wears to all events to prevent anyone seeing it when it flares up. There is a slight glow of green peaking out from under it. “Everything feels…like it’s dimming…fast.” She doesn’t just doubt that things are ‘dimming’ if how he almost hisses out the last word tells her anything. He’s in pain, a lot of it and he’s trying to hide it away from prying eyes.

Good, it’s exactly what she expects of him.

“I see.” She makes a nodding motion for the pageantry of it all. “Here’s what you’re going to do Inquisitor. You will not pass out, not here in front of our guests. You will hold it together and you will take my arm like we are just going to go for a stroll around the room. You may lean on me a little if you must, but you will maintain yourself. I will send a signal to Leliana and we will create a reasonable distraction for you to leave, but you _will_ hold on until then.” He does what she says, offering his arm to her with a smile and she takes it motioning like she wants to show him something. She can feel his body sway with each step and his speed keeps getting slower as they travel across the room. “Inquisitor, keep your head up.” She scolds lightly. “People are watching.” He does what she asks of him and he even takes a moment to greet one of the guests for the night. His voice is steady but not as firm as it usually is, not that these people will notice, and as they are momentarily distracted Vivienne sends a glance towards the Nightingale. Leliana, Maker bless her, has already caught on that something is wrong.

It’s only because Lavellan’s arm is around hers that she feels it when he tenses up, and she’s impressed to say that besides the slight pallor change, he gives nothing away to the noble currently chatting at him. Vivienne glances back at Leliana and the spymaster motions with her eyes to the door next to them and Vivienne uses all the charm of the Grand Game to extract Lavellan away from his adoring fan as she guides him to it. The door opens almost immediately when they go to ‘pass it’ and Krem – the only acceptable choice if the Chargers were all that were near - apologizes for needing Lavellan real quick and the Inquisitor makes an appropriately chastened response to his guests who all reply that they understand before he steps through the door.

“Boss what’s wrong?” The Iron Bull asks the second that they come into the hallway and it’s like someone just cut Lavellan’s strings now that he’s out of sight and the elf just drops to the ground.

“Get Solas!” Vivienne snaps at the Chargers Lieutenant standing next to Bull and Krem doesn’t hesitate, taking off to go get the elf. “We need to get him out of sight _now_.” Vivienne tells Bull as the Qunari picks up the unconscious elf and leads Vivienne down a path that she’s impressed to say, keeps them out of sight of anyone. Surely that must be a dangerous blind spot if a Qunari holding the unconscious Inquisitor is able to just waltz from one section of Skyhold to another. “Where are we taking him, and will your assistant know to meet us there?”

“Yeah, Krem knows what he’s doing.” Iron Bull says as he takes some stairs and navigates around a guard rotation to end them in a room that has certainly seen better days and that the Inquisition’s forces have barely cleaned out. Luckily the bed seems to have been cleaned and the sheets changed for some reason – Vivienne can guess since this room connects easily to the Tavern and she knows that Bull stays close by.

“Are these your rooms?”

“One of them.” Bull replies. “Pull back the blankets.” Vivienne does what’s asked of her and she stops to get a good look at the elf when Bull puts him down and covers him up. He’s shivering like he’s freezing, sweat has broken out on his skin and his features are tight with a look of agony. Thankfully, they only have so long of watching the young man on the bed suffer before they hear what sounds like someone taking the stairs two at a time and Solas and Krem enter the area.

“Move.” Solas says, practically shoving Bull and Vivienne to the side as he drops down to his knees at the side of the bed. He checks something about the elf’s temperature before he takes the hand with the mark and tugs the glove off. The mark reveals itself to them, bright and oozing out Fade energy like a bleeding wound. Solas does…something that looks vaguely like a mix between a healing spell and a barrier spell forced onto the same area – Vivienne can admit that healing arts aren’t really something that she ever took the time to study and this must be Dalish magic because she’s not sure she’s seen a spell construction done quite like that – before he reaches into the bag that he brought with him and quickly starts grinding up some kind of poultice that he smears on the area.

It’s only when he tries to do a spell on the area a second time with the poultice that the Inquisitor reacts. He twists with an almost wail of agony as he tries to get away from whatever it is Solas is doing. “Bull hold him down!” Solas snaps and Bull easily restrains the trashing mage. “Lethallin…Lethallin please. I know it hurts but you must stop fighting me.” He does the spell again and Vivienne’s teeth grind at the Inquisitor’s continued wounded sounds of pain.

“Is it working Solas?” Vivienne can’t help but ask a few minutes in and Solas nods. “And what if someone hears him?”

“No ones going to hear anything from this room.” Bull says and Vivienne figures he would know.

“It’s working.” Solas answers her a few moments later.

“It doesn’t look like it.” Krem mutters next to her and Vivienne agrees.

“I know what I’m doing. I’ve done this before.” Solas says as he starts to lay on a few more sealing and barrier spells on the hand. It feels like the entire room takes a breath when finally, the Inquisitor’s body sags and relaxes down onto the mattress. His previous condition a thing of the not distant past. Solas does a few more immediate checks on the young man and Vivienne notices how tired the elven apostate looks in the aftermath of what he’s just done. Whatever he’s managed to do, it cost him something to do it. “He’ll be fine. He just needs rest now.”

“I’ve brought a change of clothes for him.” Leliana says next to Vivienne and it takes everything in her not to jump at the other woman’s sudden presence next to her. Leliana holds up what looks to be nightclothes and a small pail of water with a cloth. Apparently, this is something that’s most certainly happened before. Strange, Vivienne never knew that the mark was that difficult or that damaging to the young elf’s body. “We shouldn’t move him.” Leliana says and Bull nods.

“He can stay right where he is. I’ll keep watch.” Bull glances around. “Should I have one of my guys tell Dorian where he is?”

“No.” Leliana says quickly. “Lavellan prefers to have as few people as possible fretting when he has one of these…episodes.”

“How frequently does he have them?” Vivienne asks and Leliana just offers the clothes to Solas who starts helping tug off the various layers of cloth that have been soaked with sweat.

“Thank you for your assistance Vivienne, but we need you back in the ballroom.” Leliana says and Vivienne nods in understanding.

“I will handle everything. See to it that you handle it here.” She warns and she turns and leaves. She has a role and a job to do after all, and it won’t do for the Inquisition to start raising questions or suspicions.

~+~

“How are you feeling this morning, my dear?” Vivienne asks when Lavellan takes a seat for breakfast and he thanks the person who puts down his plate before looking at her.

“I’m doing much better, thank you for asking.” He says. “I apologize for any distress or difficulties I may have caused last night.”

“Nonsense. You handled yourself admirably and none of our guests were any the wiser.” Vivienne takes the time to inform him of the various conversations, pledges and agreements that she got from their guests after Lavellan’s departure and he nods as he eats, taking it all in. “You should never let it get that bad.” Vivienne finally says and Lavellan glances at her. “Unless it happens all at once?”

“…it has its…jumps that is true, but no. For the most part it is a steadily building thing.” Lavellan admits softly.

“We must find a secondary source of containing it if you are so concerned about Solas’s health that you overrule your own.” She says and Lavellan doesn’t cringe but it looks like a close call.

“We’ve attempted, but none of the other healing mages seem to be able to hold against it as Solas can.”

“He is rather stubborn.” Vivienne agrees and Lavellan gets a small smile in agreeance. “Luckily for us all, he is not the only one.” She lets the praise settle for a moment. “But, will is a finite thing. Replenishable yes, but also easily overwhelmed when one uses it too much, too frequently. Do not overwhelm yourself pointlessly in small battles that need not be fought.”

“I will take that into consideration Lady Vivienne.” Lavellan says and she nods.

“See to it that you do.” She tells him and they settle back easily into their usual morning routines.


End file.
